training camp

The Minnesota Fightin’ Vikings begin their two days of practice with the Cincinnati Bengals before Friday’s first preseason game in Southern Ohio (but really Northern Kentucky). Mankato Training Camp is in the rear view mirror. Impressions were made, but still plenty of time for jobs to be won or lost. But that won’t stop us from recklessly speculating who will (Teddy Bridgewater) and who won’t (Antone Exum) be in Purple to start the 2016 season.

Purple FTW! – The Podcast dedicated to the Pain AND Pleasure that is the Minnesota Vikings.

My time at Minnesota Fightin’ Vikings Training Camp has concluded. I enjoyed my time watching the team in the Crown Jewel of South Central Minnesota. Everyone loved Ribfest, but it’s time to get serious about some football. Here’s 14 observations from Mankato.

After returning to Mankato to cover training camp for my fourth consecutive year, I have started to notice a few consistencies. No more notable, maybe, than the amount of fans who will drive in from all over to watch their Vikings practice under the hot sun of southern Minnesota.

More than 10,000 fans attended the annual evening practice Saturday night, making it clear that faith in the organization is at an all time high.

This comes as no surprise to many, I am sure. There has always been that pocket of the fan base that believes their team can be a Super Bowl contender, no matter what the four letter network is projecting. What seems to be different this year however, is the amount of faith fans have in head coach Mike Zimmer and the front office led by general manager Rick Spielman.

The annual dead period between the Saturday morning walk-through and the famous Night Practice is upon us. No worries though as we’ve set up at Boulder Tap House again with Sam Ekstrom (@SamEkstrom), Luke Inman (@Luke_Spinman), and Eric Thompson (@Eric_J_Thompson) to talk a little Minnesota Fightin’ Vikings and what we’ve seen from the squad as they round out their final weekend in Mankato this season. (Note: Eric’s audio kicked out about 3/4 of the way through the show. Ah well.)

All that and other “THIS. IS. NIGHT PRACTICE.” chatter on this edition of the Purple FTW! Podcast!